News

Instead of building the promised 13 frigates, the UK government has delayed the project and is now planning to build five fewer over a longer timeframe after diverting £750 million to other defence projects.

“In pledging to take a stake, government ministers have responded to the calls of the steel unions, politicians, industry and the public alike, who all recognise that we need a successful steel industry or we will cease to be a manufacturing power house."

The skills, productivity and ingenuity defence workers possess are why they are essential to our manufacturing capabilities and why we have been seeking firm commitments that defence spending ensures that taxpayers' money goes to support UK defence workers.

Oliver Richardson said: “In 2014 our members at Monarch made significant sacrifices to help secure the deal with Greybull Capital; so it is a severe blow to our engineering members to hear this news when they have played their part in turning around Monarch, making it the profitable business that it is today.”

Welcoming the announcement, Unite said the imminent deal was a testament to the workforce and demonstrated that steel production in the UK can have a future if the government ‘stepped up to the plate’ and was prepared to throw a ‘protective arm’ around the industry.

Tony Burke: “Mr Javid saw first-hand the scale of this site and could witness this dedicated workforce doing what they do best, which is delivering for British manufacturing. We underlined again the need to keep this business together because that is the only way to sustain the UK as a manufacturing nation."